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fusain

[fyoo-zeyn, fyoo-zeyn; French fy-zan]
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noun, plural fu·sains [fyoo-zeynz, fyoo-zeynz; French fy-zan] /fyuˈzeɪnz, ˈfyu zeɪnz; French füˈzɛ̃/ for 2.
  1. a fine charcoal used in drawing, made from the wood of the spindle tree.
  2. a drawing made with this charcoal.
  3. a blackish-gray, friable component of coal with a silky luster that leaves a charcoallike mark.
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Origin of fusain

1865–70; < French: spindle tree, charcoal made from its wood < Vulgar Latin *fūsāgīn- (stem of *fūsāgō), derivative of Latin fūsus spindle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for fusain

fusain

noun
  1. a fine charcoal pencil or stick made from the spindle tree
  2. a drawing done with such a pencil
  3. a dull black brittle form of carbon resembling charcoal, found in certain coals
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Word Origin

C19: from French: spindle tree or charcoal made from it, from Vulgar Latin fūsāgō (unattested) a spindle (generally made from the spindle tree), from Latin fūsus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012